


i walked with you once (upon a dream)

by savethelastslice



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: F/M, Reincarnation AU, Soulmates AU, it's not geographically accurate oops
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-12
Updated: 2018-01-12
Packaged: 2019-03-03 22:21:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13350705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/savethelastslice/pseuds/savethelastslice
Summary: Zelda removed her boots and rolled up her pants to above her ankles. As she took a step in, her toes went stiff from the shock of the cold. There had been none of the chill in the air earlier, but there was now.A splashing sound from beside her - Prima had waded in. She laughed. “Isn’t it warm? If you come up here in autumn it’s soooo icy cold you can barely stand to dip your feet.” She sounded strangely distant. Zelda felt lightheaded yet anchored, present yet absent. What was happening to her?She had been here before, not just in the dreams. She’s sure of it.





	i walked with you once (upon a dream)

The dreams started from a young age.

Zelda was fifteen. One snowy December night she dreamt of being in a courtyard. She was on horseback, and the setting sun turned the evening sky a fiery red slowly consumed by a deep, deep blue. The stone walls surrounding her were high. From where she sat she could see the tips of spears moving along the top of the walls - guards patrolling. In front of her was a gigantic wooden gate, where an armoured guard was turning a key, pulling the heavy door open. She jerked backwards as the horse she sat on began to trot forward and she hit a strange mass, hearing a grunt that let her know that she wasn’t alone…

She woke up screaming. Her parents rushed in, and they held her in their arms as she shook and did not know why.

A month later, she was back in that strange courtyard. Again, she saw the armoured guard turn the key and lean his weight back as he opened the wooden door. She fell back as the horse began to move and speed up, past the doors and out onto an open grassy field. She tried to move her head, to turn and see where they had come from. But her neck seemed numb, didn’t seem hers to control. She glanced as far as she could to her left. Behind her lay a familiar looking mighty stone castle that blocked the setting sun. She realised that she was lying across the back of the horse, that in her peripheral vision she could make out the side of the rider. Then she woke up breathing hard.

Every month, the dream came. They all started the same way as the first. But in each dream she and the mysterious rider rode further and further, through grassland and trees and sandy streets, towards a small mountain that appeared on the horizon. While she was aware of what was happening to her, she had no control over her body except for her eyes. Trying to send a scream out of her throat was a good as wind flowing through a cave, the sides rigid and unable to shape her cry. She would wake with an ache in her chest and the old, deep feeling one gets of having misplaced something of great importance.

In a history book she was reading one day, she stumbled upon an image of the exact same castle she saw in her dreams. Hyrule Castle, where monarchy ruled over the country centuries ago. It now lay in ruins.

Strangest of all was how _real_ the dreams felt. If asked to she would swear that she could feel the coarseness of the horse’s fur on her cheek. The impact of the hard leather seat on her side on bumpy roads. And once, the smooth underside of leaves and the branches as they travelled along a road flanked by trees. As she got older and the dreams longer, she noticed more and more details each time, more texture. And as this went on, she somehow knew that there was something waiting for her on the mountaintop.

Then one night, she reached the mountain. She was alone on the mountaintop without horse (short haired, likely a light shade of brown, sandy mane) or mystery rider (cloaked in velvet of midnight-blue, wearing leather armour, smelling of thyme and mint). She stood before a plateau, on a gently-sloping grass. She could feel her legs and as soon as she realised this, she was running as if compelled by an irresistible pull.

In the middle of the small clearing was a lake. On one end the banks converged like a triangle. On the other, the diverging lines curved back to meet. Whether by natural phenomenon or human meddling, it was shaped exactly like a heart. Under the dim light of the moon, Zelda saw a shape in the lake. Her legs moved faster. The cold air stung her face like tiny arrows.

As she approached the lake she tried to slow down, but her body didn’t listen, and she ran straight into the dark waters. It was icy cold. It splashed violently into the air as she waded in. Under her feet (bare, numb), she felt the smoothness of the shifting pebbles. She was panting by then, teeth chattering as her thin dress did little to conserve body heat (was this a nightgown?).

When she got to the shape, she was waist deep in the freezing water. Her hands reached out to touch the lump. Below her fingertips she felt the touch of some thick syrup. She held her hand up to the moonlight. The dark liquid trickled down her trembling forearm.

Something strange was clawing at her heart now, squeezing her lungs. She rolled the lump over, and she stared at the bone white face of a man. His dark green tunic was stained and ripped. His flesh was deeply cut at the side. His light coloured hair floated in the water, and his gaze (empty, empty, empty) stared at her.

The sun shone through her window when she awoke that morning. Turning over, the clock read 1.38 p.m.. Zelda breathed out an unsteady breath and pushed herself up so she sat, leaning against her pillows. Her heart felt empty of something that used to be there, and her mind fuzzy like a badly erased chalkboard. When she touched her clammy cheek, her fingers came away wet.

She never dreamed that dream again. She was nineteen. But though the mysterious dream left, a mysterious certainty remained. This mysterious lake existed somewhere. If the castle she dreamed of was the ancient Hyrule castle that had existed, perhaps it wasn’t a stretch to speculate that the mountain and the lake did too. Somewhere to the west, Zelda was sure, remembering the light of a setting sun coming from behind the castle. 

That summer, Zelda took a trip and travelled south. Her horse was gentle and the roads were smooth. As they rode, sometimes the scenery looked too familiar and sometimes it didn’t. Zelda rode on.

The third evening, she reached a village with many windmills, and took a bed at the local inn. The girl at the counter was cheery even at that time after a full day’s work. With one look at her face she offered Zelda a discount on their “soft beds” (“Guaranteed to give you extra rest!”). Because, in her words, she looked like she needed one.

The room was cozy, quaint as most small wooden houses tended to be. In the small bathroom Zelda took a warm bath. She stepped out and looked at herself in the mirror. The face looking back looked weary now that she thought of it. She supposed if she were haunted enough to chase after those dreams, they must have taken a toll on her physically. She wondered when it was that she last took note of the bags under her eyes.

The soft bed was, as promised, softer than anything Zelda had touched. When she fell asleep that night, she did not dream.

She awoke to chirping cuccos, and the sound of laughing children. The sun had risen. Zelda changed hurriedly and went downstairs for breakfast. She got herself a bowl of porridge and took a seat by the window.

“Hey,” the girl from the counter slid into the seat opposite Zelda. “I’m Prima, the innkeeper. Are you one of the seekers?”

Zelda blinked in surprise. “Seekers?”

Prima cocked her head. “Of the Lover’s Pond, of course! The lake shaped mysteriously like a broken heart? Its legend attracts so many visitors every year. Gives us a lot of business.”

A lake shaped like a broken heart. She found it. She had planned it to be a long trip, knowing that items searched for don't magically appear and that this, this was too convenient. Zelda felt something in her chest pull and tighten. “If I am,” Zelda asked, treading cautiously, “do you know someone who can show me the way?”

“Me, of course! It’ll be a fee of 50 rupees, though, but I’ll bring drinks and some food.”

“Okay, then. I accept the offer.” 50 rupees wasn’t too pricey for a long trek and besides, having a local guide was a much better plan than Zelda had in mind. “What is the earliest time we can leave?”

“Are you ready to leave soon? We can leave in 5 minutes if you are.” Prima stood up and began untying her apron and removing her hair net. “It’s about an hour’s walk, so wear comfy shoes and bring some food.”

About an hour and a half after they started off, the top of the mountain came into view and the two hurried there. Zelda let out a soft gasp for it was exactly as she had seen in her dreams. And as Prima had promised, there lay the lake.

By the light of the sun, the blue of the lake glimmered. It was nothing like the thunderous landscape that she had seen before, yet it was without doubt the same lake. Again, she wondered how it could have been so easy to find. Maybe some mysteries wanted to be solved.

“Let’s dip our feet in,” suggested Prima. She squinted up at the sky. “Looks a bit cloudy and with the wind, it may rain. We should leave soon.”

Zelda removed her boots and rolled up her pants to above her ankles. As she took a step in, her toes went stiff from the shock of the cold. There had been none of the chill in the air earlier, but there was now.

A splashing sound from beside her - Prima had waded in. She laughed. “Isn’t it warm? If you come up here in autumn it’s soooo icy cold you can barely stand to dip your feet.” She sounded strangely distant. Zelda felt lightheaded yet anchored, present yet absent. What was happening to her?

She had been here before, not just in the dreams. She’s sure of it.

“Hey, hey, you okay?” Zelda turned around to face Prima, whose eyebrows knitted together in concern. “You’re shaking. Maybe we should head back, we’ve been here quite a while already.”

Zelda blinked and looked to the sky to see that sun had moved quite a distance. She breathed out shakily. She felt chilled to the bone. Reluctantly, she agreed with Prima that they should be heading back despite every bit of her body screaming at her to stay put, she’s found something very important but she wasn’t quite ready to be sure of what.

To her dismay, the experience put Zelda to bed for the next four days with a high fever. Prima tended to her, due to guilt or a sense of duty, she wasn't sure. Between the strange fever dreams Zelda remembered Prima encouraging her to eat some porridge.

But mostly, Zelda slept. She dreamt of blue skies and blue waters, and of a piercing pair of electric blue eyes.  
The day her fever broke, she lay in bed contemplating returning. It had been eight days and she had done what she had set out to do - she had found the lake. Yet the strange compulsion did not seem to have lessened, but had lain dormant during her fever. Now it was back with vengeance, and it tickled her stomach unbearably so, like flickering but harmless flames.

Two days later, she felt well enough to take the hike back up to the hill. Prima had packed her a sandwich for lunch at her request, squinting in disapproval when Zelda had announced her intentions to make the trip. As a small gesture of gratitude, Zelda had also offered to pick some herbs and mushrooms for Prima to use at the inn.  
She reached the lake mid-morning. She picked a basketful of mushrooms and Hyrule herbs before settling down for lunch, then used her lunch basket to collect more mushrooms. All the while, she waited.

When the sun started to dip down the horizon, Zelda stood up and brushed her pants. She looked at the lake and the sky that she had seen a hundred times by now.

“I’m leaving tomorrow,” she announced to no one. “I know there’s something else, but I can’t sit and wait for something that may not even come. I’ve come to see the lake - I’ll come back one more time tomorrow, then I’m going back to carry on with my education and life.” She felt a little silly saying this with nobody there, but she felt that it needed to be done. The gentle swaying of the trees was the sole response as she took up the baskets and walked down the hillside. 

Breakfast the next day was sauteed mushrooms. “You picked so many yesterday,” Prima told her with a smile. “It was a big help; they grow more in the higher regions but going there can be a pain.”

“It was no problem. They were also a thank you for all you’ve done for me while I’ve been here.” Zelda said.

Prima’s face fell a little. “Oh that’s right, you’re leaving today, huh? No worries. Seriously, I like helping people. It’s a pity you were ill for most of your stay, if not you could have explored Hateno more. There’s a tech lab on that hill behind the village, I think you’d have found it of interest. Maybe on another visit? You’ll come see us again, right? It’s not often that I can make friends with someone of my age.”

Zelda laughed. The people here had been good to her. There was a sharp stabbing pain in her chest, from regret or sadness at a parting she could not say. “Yeah, one day, of course.” When she was no longer haunted by the lake, or if the pull became unbearable.

“You’re popping by the lake one more time right? I’ll come with.” Prima said. “It’s a good time as any to collect more mushrooms. We'll see if we can find a radish or a truffle.”  
Zelda paid for the nights she had stayed and the medicine she had recieved, and then set off with Prima. As they walked, they chatted.

“I thought I would stay longer,” Zelda remarked. “But this feeling is so weird. I mean, I came to find a place I had dreamed about for almost ten years, I find it so easily, but there’s still something weird. Like I'm still missing something. This isn’t something that happens.”

Prima hummed. “So you’re purposely going the other way your gut tells you.”

Zelda nodded. “I can’t live like this. This compulsion is so strange, like these feelings belong to someone else that I’m not.”

“I never did tell you the legend of the lake, did I? It did occur to me after hearing your name, but I didn’t think much of it then. We’ll see what you make of it.” Prima took a deep breath. “It’s been passed down for generations, I guess it's now my turn to pass it on.

“A long time ago, there was a princess. She was as lovely in character as she was beautiful. And like every princess, she had a knight. He was handpicked by the king, the most talented swordsman across all Hyrule. He was young, and kind. He was by the princess’ side day and night, protecting her from all who wished her harm.”  
At this point, she turned to look at Zelda, checking her reaction. She took another breath. “Her name,” she said. “Was Zelda.

“But at evil had been growing unchecked in the castle. A baron, by the name of Ganon, fell in love with the princess and the power she promised. He watched her, wondering how he could make her his. One day during a parade, he saw the way the princess leaned over to adjust the knight’s armour, how her fingers lingered after each touch, and the way the knight’s eyes followed her every movement.

“He grew angry, and plotted on how to steal the princess away. He knew the castle well, and all it’s pathways and secrets. And then, he succeeded. Drugging the knight’s water and breaking into the princess’ quarters that night, he fled southeast.

“The knight drank less of the water than Ganon had hoped, and awoke not long after. Upon discovering that the princess was missing, he immediately mounted his faithful stead and raced to find them.

“By some miracle, he found them and caught up with them on the top of a small mountain with a lake in the centre. There, he challenged Ganon. It was a fierce and mighty battle, for Ganon was himself a great swordsman. The knight overpowered him, and struck a fatal blow. As Ganon lay struggling to breathe, the knight, also heavily wounded, went to free the princess. But just as he freed her from her bonds, he felt a sword pierce his side and he collapsed. Ganon had staggered there and now stood with a bloodied sword. As he was about to strike a killing blow, the princess threw herself at him. The force of the impact pushed Ganon off the side of the mountain. He died tumbling down, down, down.

“The princess rushed over, but the knight was fading fast. With the last of his strength, he lifted his hand and placed it tenderly on her arm. 

“‘Dear princess,’ he said, ‘I am happy to do this for you.’. And he closed his eyes forever as the tears of the princess started to fall. She swore then that they would find each other in every life that was to come. She carried the body of the knight and had him buried by the lake. She ruled over the kingdom justly, never married, and when the time came she was buried on the opposite bank as she wished.

“By then, a ridge of land had emerged in the middle of the lake, separating the two sides. Everyone remarked that it looked exactly like a broken heart. But get this - people say that when the two are reunited in next lives, the rain falls and fills the lake to cover the ridge so the heart is whole again. And that after they pass the waters fall, only to rise again mysteriously years later. My mother has seen it.”

She paused, contemplating what she had said. “Records say that the lake isn’t often filled. Sometimes there are lapses of a hundred years, decades. But when it is, it is said that whoever visits the lake will meet their soulmate in their lifetime, and that the rain that fills the lake makes the land all around especially fertile.”

Zelda turned to look at Prima, and saw her smile sadly at the ground. “People say it’s just a legend, I suppose, but I know it’s really important to the people in the village. More fertile land means more crops and more profits, and also more travelers come by. Have you noticed how dry it’s been these few years?”

“The name's a rather curious coincedence, isn’t it?” Prima continued. She searched Zelda’s face. “I mean, I’m not trying to suggest anything, don’t get me wrong. But my parents have always told me that who we used to be, whether in the past hour or day or life is important.”

Zelda hummed. But that drawn-out feeling in her chest was back.

As they got to the lake, they stared at it in silence for a while. Prima broke the silence.

“You look like you need to be alone for a bit,” she said. “I’ll go pick some mushrooms along the path, I’ll be there if you need me. When you’re ready come down and meet me, then we’ll head back to Hateno village to get your horse. I’ve already told the stable to get him saddled and ready to go by early afternoon.” She patted Zelda’s shoulder and made her way down.

A princess and reincarnations, huh? Zelda sighed as she suppressed the tingling excitement that surfaced. She gazed at the horizon, scanned the view. She was sure that if she left now, the regret may nibble on the edges of her consciousness for the rest of her life. But she was also sure that if she didn’t leave, she might spend the rest of her life waiting for that something more that might not ever come. Dreams aside, there wasn’t anything concrete that tied her to this place. 

So why was her heart pounding so fast? Why did she feel like her legs weighed several tonnes each when she tried to lift them, to turn them around?

A rustling of leaves. Zelda turned her head around in the direction of the sound. It was coming from somewhere on the opposite banks. Something compelled her feet to move, moving along the bank of the lake to catch a glimpse. Then her vision tunneled. 

There was a person on the other side, approaching the lake at a brisk jog. Zelda felt her feet carry her towards him as though pulled by a mysterious source of gravity the person - a man - was emitting, one that was only affecting her.

As she got nearer she could see that the man was just barely a man, with the lithe, athletic, frame. His wore his dusty blond hair pulled back in a short and messy ponytail, with two short tufts hanging in front of his ears. He wore a simple Hylian tunic and leggings.

But as Zelda approached he seemed to hear something, and stopped. He turned to face her. The tufts of hair framed his face just as she had known they would. His face was young and angelic. She could now see small blue earrings, that matched his bright blue eyes. In them was the look of a daydreamer with the steeliness of a hard-worker. They were, soft eyes, too, gentle eyes. And they held recognition.

Then all of a sudden Zelda felt all the air rush out from her lungs. Her head felt grainy, like she had been hit with a club, hard. Then light.

She saw the day the king appointed the knight as Princess Zelda’s - her, that was, used to be, was once her - protector and champion. She saw the days in the castle that followed, with their growing friendship and budding feelings. She saw the day of the parade, fixing the knight’s armour. She saw the time after the parade when, overwhelmed by pride, she had gone up on tip toes and pressed her lips to his cheek, fierce, quick, embarrassed. She saw their first kiss. After she had pulled back, she had seen the knight blushing a deep red, and she had tiptoed again, this time moving slowly, gently slotting her lips with his. He had touched her then, an armoured hand caressing her face gently, gently, in disbelief.

She saw the night she ate the bread offered to her by the Baron Ganon. She felt the deep heaviness that overtook her body and senses, the haziness as she was lifted up to his horse. She saw the knight’s face as he worked to cut her bonds without harming her, and the horror in his eyes when he was stabbed.

And she saw reunions that followed, finding each other time and time again. The boy on the farm next to hers. The son of the local shopkeeper. The quiet kid at the back of the class.

Link. His name was Link.

She looked up, and there he was. His eyes were opened impossibly wide, and there was a dark streak that ran down his cheek.

“Ex-excuse me,” Zelda stammered out. She swallowed. Her throat seemed as rough as sandpaper. “But have we met before?”

The man - boy, really - Link, her Link, seemed to have reached out a hand to touch her face as if in a daze but seemed to snap out of it and pull back just before making contact. His hand trembled and when Zelda reached up to touch her own cheek her hand came away wet.

He blinked in rapid succession and swallowed. He opened his mouth. “I...I think so.” His voice was barely a whisper but every word was spoken clear, and his voice was as warm as the honey wine they used to serve back during great celebrations in the ancient times of Hyrule…

That afternoon saw an unusually heavy thunderstorm, and visitors to the Lover’s Pond after than day saw not a lake split into two, but a whole heart with its blue water glimmering lightly in the sun.

**Author's Note:**

> First fic in goodness knows how long. not entirely sure what to think of it but hey, it's good practice. and i'm always a sucker for soulmate aus heh :3 
> 
> do let me know what you think of it! got a long way to go ^^
> 
> botw has been SO GOOD so far. got my butt handed to me by Thunderblight but oh wells ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


End file.
